Ukrainian Bell Carol

Last year we said that we thought we had done all of the traditional seasonal tunes that could be done with just the few notes available to beginning recorder students. Well, we were wrong... more or less. Actually, we don't do the entire tune in the recorder part, but we do give young players an interesting part to play in an arrangement with a unique recording full of all sorts of bells and bell-like sounds.

As published, this setting uses E, G, A, B, C, mostly on dotted half notes. If these parts are still too difficult for some players, simply remove the quarter notes at the end of measures like 36 and 42.

Several subscribers have told us that they use our recorder features with mallet instruments such as glocks, and occasionally with beginning string students. This arrangement would work very well with glocks or metallophones playing the recorder part. Also, regardless of what instruments play the published part, you may want to add other students playing triangle, small unpitched bells, or other tinkly percussion instruments.

Also consider constructing a simple ostinato for your mallet instruments based on A and E. During the last measure, you may wish to add wind chimes, a bell tree, or other bell-like instruments, ad lib.